A Kerry football fan, whose three-year-long prosecution was singled out by the Minister for Justice as an “unacceptable” example of District Court delays caused by the old criminal legal aid system, was never represented by a legal aid solicitor.
The Irish Times has established that the supporter was the subject of a bench warrant that was not enforced for nearly three years, and that this caused a long gap between court appearances.
Speaking to reporters this week amid solicitor protests over reforms to the criminal legal aid payment scheme, Jim O’Callaghan said the man was charged with a “very minor” offence on the day of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship game between Kerry and Dublin on July 30th, 2023.
He said it was “unacceptable that somebody who faces a minor offence can find themselves not having their case determined within a period of three years”.
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Asked whose fault this delay was, the Minister said: “This is not about me blaming solicitors, this is about recognising that the system needs to be improved. A system that has a payment structure which encourages adjournments – because you get paid more through an adjournment – is going to encourage situations like that.
“I’m not attributing blame to solicitors or to the State. What I’m trying to ensure is that cases are determined promptly in the District Court.”
He said he was implementing a new regime of criminal legal aid payments “so we don’t have a situation like what happened to that man from Kerry”.
[ Legal aid dispute may spread from criminal courts to family and domestic violence cases ]
The new scheme involves one €520 flat fee per defendant at District Court level, regardless of the number of court dates, replacing the previous system involving a €239.38 payment for a first appearance and €59.86 for each subsequent court hearing. The new system aims to discourage unnecessary adjournments.
The Kerry man’s public order offences for allegedly being intoxicated and engaging in abusive behaviour at the Croke Park match were thrown out by Judge Michelle Finan at a Dublin District Court on July 8th. She dismissed the matter after describing it as a “legacy case”.
The man represented himself on the day as he discovered there were no criminal legal aid solicitors available to assist with the hearing, since hundreds around the State have withdrawn their services as part of a row over the Minister’s reforms.
The Irish Times has learned that the man did not have criminal legal aid for earlier portions of his case, so there was no delay arising out of adjournments sought by a criminal legal aid solicitor.
He was charged in July 2023 and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued that August for a breach of his bail. There was then a gap until May of this year, when his case came before Tralee District Court. It returned to the District Court in June before being struck out in Dublin on July 8th.
The Minister has been approached for comment.
Sinn Féin justice spokesman Matt Carthy said O’Callaghan’s referral to a case “not related to an adjournment at all” was “a sign of desperation if the Minister is citing cases in support of his argument without knowing the facts”.
“It’s been clear from the outset that the Minister has ignored the complexity of reasons for adjournments in the District Court, which are often on the State side,” said Carthy, who is also chairman of the Oireachtas justice committee.
